SWARM (2021), the high-flying arcade shooter from Greensky Games, is one of the best-rated paid games on Quest, serving up fast-paced, arcade-style grapple shooting action as you battle against the titular Swarm. Now you can get your hands on the sequel, SWARM 2 (2024).
Announced late last year, single-player game Swarm 2 brings back more electrifying action in a rogue-like shooter package, including new environments, rogue-like progression, and globally competitive leaderboards.
In it, you play as Marv, the last surviving ‘grapple commando’, who uses their trusty pistol and grappling hook to battle back the Swarm and save Earth. Following the original Swarm, which is historically one of the best-rated Quest games by user reviews, you basically swing around like Spider-Man and blast away at Galaga (1981) style mini-baddies as well as a host of giant bosses.
Greensky Games says every mission “brings unexpected challenges as you navigate through the neon-lit ruins of Earth, now a constantly changing battleground. Each encounter with the Swarm is a unique experience, with tactics and strategies evolving to match your growing skills.”
Swarm 2 is now available across Quest 2/3/Pro and Pico headsets, priced at $25. The studio says a port for SteamVR headsets is currently on the roadmap. If you’re looking to train up before hitting the Swarm with all you’ve got, check out the game’s training guide for tips and tricks.
Everyone loves a surprise, don’t they? Not the tax reminder kind, more the unexpected gift-wrapped present or kind gesture. The same goes for videogames, where good surprises are quite often the realm of indie titles. Just look at projects like Paper Beastor Cubismas prime examples. When it comes to virtual reality (VR) this can be down to screenshots and even video struggling to portray the gameplay, so that first step inside feels very fresh and astonishing. And that sums up the review of Swarm…or if you want to know more then read on.
It used to be the case that intense speeds and sharp directional changes were a no go area for VR gameplay, especially if it involved swinging. As most are probably aware now this thought process has very much been thrown in the bin, with recent titles such as Tarzan VRor Yupitergradproving what can be achieved by grappling and swinging between platforms. Swarm well and truly takes grappling to another level with action-focused gameplay that never lets up until the level is complete.
On the surface Swarm is a classic wave shooter, where you have a selection of light, medium and heavy-duty enemies to get rid of. You’ll get combo scores for quickly dispatching hordes, with the smaller insectoids bundled in swarms whilst the larger enemies tend to be singular, defending themselves with force fields or firing homing rockets at you. Nothing too unusual on that front, you’ve all played videogames with this type of enemy setup requiring you to vary strategies on the fly.
Quite often though you’ll get a little breather or be able to hide behind a wall to regain some composure. Yeah…there’s none of that in Swarm, it’s adrenaline central. Because, as mentioned, movement in Swarm relies on swinging between platforms, with a grappling hook embedded in each of the pistols you hold. The important factor to note is that there’s no floor as such, so you can’t simply hop down reorientate and jump back in Spider-Man style. Get too low and it’s instant death. The first level, for example, is above water so if you suddenly find yourself submerged then you’ll get eaten by a shark, restarting the stage all over again.
Developer Greensky Games definitely seems to be weaving some VR hocus pocus with Swarm as gameplay this manic shouldn’t be this comfortable. Each stage has a selection of platforms you can grapple to, swinging around to your heart’s desire. But grappling means you can’t shoot your gun. So you can choose to get some awesome height with a double grapple and then rein fire down upon enemies or stay mobile continually swinging with one hand whilst the other dishes out the pain – albeit with less damage. The former method quickly became the standard, it’s a great way of scoping out the level when filled with hostiles plus the bonuses are easier to spot.
Even with the general comfort factor, there are options to tweak should you need them. Various degrees of vignette are available, switch to lefty, or select between snap and smooth turning. Swarm is best played standing so you can naturally turn around without using the stick controls but it equally works seated with a spinning chair.
As an arcade-action videogame Swarm needed and provides plenty of little goodies to spice up the experience. You start with some bog-standard, pistols no matter the level. As the action hots up new upgrades will appear providing limited extra firepower like the handy, lock-on rocket launcher, great for boss weak points or groups for multi-kills. Health pickups are also available but it’s the two charge up features that add an extra level of tactical advantage. These are Slowmo and Zip. Slowmo is fairly self-explanatory and useful for hitting those weak points, whilst Zip can launch you to a platform, avoiding incoming fire or floor death. Swarm doesn’t stop there either. Mods such as low gravity, unlimited rapid-fire and unlimited slowmo can be activated before each level – of which there are 25 across 5 zones – although they halt progression. Green shards appear to up the multiplier and then there are side objectives to complete. For an arcade shooter, there’s a lot going on and plenty to keep you coming back for more.
And that’s the most important factor, is it fun enough that you’ll want to keep playing considering this is a single-player game with global leaderboards? That’s a firm “heck yes!” Swarm’s gameplay is as bold as its visuals, and even in the casual setting provides a decent challenge that is instantly addictive. Make no mistake Swarm is intense and possibly not recommended for those new to VR. If you’re a VR veteran then definitely give this a try, just make sure you’ve got plenty of space to swing those arms around!
SWARM is a high-flying arcade shooter from Greensky Games that gives you two grappling hooks and plenty of firepower to take down gads of enemy drones. Swarm has been in beta testing for the past year, but now Greensky says it’s coming to Quest and Rift on April 8th.
The team originally aimed to release Swarm in September 2020, but took six extra months of development to prepare the game for its launch on Quest and Rift, which includes cross-buy.
It’s a single player game for now, launching first with competitive leaderboards, however Greensky tells Oculus that multiplayer “will be coming in the near future.”
Swarm was partly inspired by the grappling locomotion mechanic in Windlands (2016), but it wasn’t clear exactly what would follow in the early days of development.
“We spent 4 months iterating on grappling, and had a breakthrough when we gave the rope some elasticity and tension simulation – suddenly it felt like we had more control and power, more like Spider-Man,” says Peter Le Bek, Founder of Greensky Games. “From there we considered building a 3D platformer, or a racing game, but we settled on the strategic arena shooter because swinging through explosions and plunging down on enemies while shooting them was just ridiculously fun!”
Swarm is launching first on Oculus Quest and Rift on April 8th; the SteamVR version is said to follow at some point, with its Steam listing indicating a Summer 2021 release window.
If you’re looking for a new arcade shooter then keep an eye out for Greensky Games’ Swarm, which offers wide-open arenas, flying bug-like enemies and lots and lots of insane grapple locomotion. As VRFocusreported over the weekend, Swarm‘s launch was expected soon and that’s been proven correct today, with a launch date set for three weeks time.
As expected, Swarm will be coming to Oculus Quest and Rift first, letting players jump into the action on 8th April 2021. Supporting cross-buy on the Oculus platform, Swarm is a single-player arcade experience that challenges players to complete fast and furious levels, continually moving by grappling between platforms whilst unleashing a barrage of projectiles on swarms of enemies.
The new launch trailer showcases all of this and more, with players able to dual wield pistols and other weaponry, all of which can fire grappling cables. The trick is to gain enough speed and height so you can focus on shooting all the little enemies as well as the really big ones. And there are some huge bosses to defeat! Swarm will offer 21 levels and 5 dynamic zones to play through so there should be plenty of gameplay to get stuck into in April.
Entirely single-player, there has been mention of a planned multiplayer mode with Redditor Jdconnel saying “Developer here: Yep – multiplayer is the first thing we’re going to be working on post-launch!” Here’s hoping Greensky Games adds a co-op mode to battle those bosses with a mate as well as PvP, going one-on-one in those arenas would certainly be challenging.
As for wider headset support a SteamVR version is still planned but that’ll now arrive at some point during the summer.
When VRFocus gets its hands-on Swarm we’ll let you know how intense all that swinging and plummeting around those levels can be.
If you’re looking for a new arcade shooter then keep an eye out for Greensky Games’ Swarm, which offers wide-open arenas, flying bug-like enemies and lots and lots of insane grapple locomotion. As VRFocusreported over the weekend, Swarm‘s launch was expected soon and that’s been proven correct today, with a launch date set for three weeks time.
As expected, Swarm will be coming to Oculus Quest and Rift first, letting players jump into the action on 8th April 2021. Supporting cross-buy on the Oculus platform, Swarm is a single-player arcade experience that challenges players to complete fast and furious levels, continually moving by grappling between platforms whilst unleashing a barrage of projectiles on swarms of enemies.
The new launch trailer showcases all of this and more, with players able to dual wield pistols and other weaponry, all of which can fire grappling cables. The trick is to gain enough speed and height so you can focus on shooting all the little enemies as well as the really big ones. And there are some huge bosses to defeat! Swarm will offer 21 levels and 5 dynamic zones to play through so there should be plenty of gameplay to get stuck into in April.
Entirely single-player, there has been mention of a planned multiplayer mode with Redditor Jdconnel saying “Developer here: Yep – multiplayer is the first thing we’re going to be working on post-launch!” Here’s hoping Greensky Games adds a co-op mode to battle those bosses with a mate as well as PvP, going one-on-one in those arenas would certainly be challenging.
As for wider headset support a SteamVR version is still planned but that’ll now arrive at some point during the summer.
When VRFocus gets its hands-on Swarm we’ll let you know how intense all that swinging and plummeting around those levels can be.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
One virtual reality (VR) shooter VRFocus has been keeping a close eye on is Swarm, a single-player experience with grappling mechanics. Originally slated for a Summer 2020 launch that was then pushed back to Spring 2021. This means it isn’t far away, especially as Swarm is now listed on the Oculus Quest portion of the Oculus Store. The Steam version, however, is going to be a little longer, now slated for early summer.
Indie developer Greensky Games has partnered with Oculus to further push the arcade action, hence why Swarm is coming to Oculus Quest and Rift first, supporting cross-buy support. The SteamVR version for HTC Vive and other compatible headsets has now been pushed back, although there’s still no concrete release date for either platform.
Purely single-player, Swarm is all about taking on waves on insect-like enemies in massive open-air arenas that you manoeuvre around by grappling onto loads of floating platforms. You have a pair of pistols in each hand so you can shooting and swing however you please, get enough height and unleash a volley with both guns or get in close and do a shooting swing-by.
Designed to be fast and frantic with quick 10-20 minute matches, Swarm will offer 21 levels and 5 dynamic zones to play through, plus various weapon loadouts to mix up the action. Enemies will range from swarm’s of small insectoids up to large boss enemies which will take plenty of punishment, so practising those grappling mechanics will be essential. Additionally, there’s a global leaderboard to challenge other players on.
As Swarm is still in development, Greensky Games is still looking for beta players as the link is still working on the Swarm website. There is a waiting list with beta testers accepted in waves, plus you’ll have to adhere to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to be accepted.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Swarm, reporting back with those release dates once they’ve been confirmed.
Grapple mechanics aren’t often used in virtual reality (VR) as they can be tricky to pull off comfortably, the most well known being Psytec Games’ Windlands series. Today, indie developer Greensky Games has announced its take on this dynamic locomotion mechanic, Swarm, combining with first-person shooter (FPS) gameplay.
Instantly striking thanks to cel-shaded graphics which have that Borderlands 2 VR feel to them, Swarm is built around frantic arcade action. Set in arenas filled with platforms to swing from, the gameplay showcased in the video below looks like players will be challenged to take on a succession of boss fights, dealing with one primary enemy as well as smaller drones and other minions.
Players will be able to nip around arenas using grappling hooks from either hand whilst being able to dual wield two pistols. Other weapons do pop up including rocket launchers for crowd control and a gun which fires electricity.
On the subject of all that swinging around in VR, Peter Le Bek, founder of Greensky Games said in a statement: “You know, after we finished prototyping the grappling mechanic, before there were enemies, we were having so much fun just swinging around, but we were really worried that the movement would be too intense for most people. So when we tested with everyone in our office – most of whom had never tried VR before – we were really surprised that no one complained about motion sickness.
“And Swarm’s now been tested by hundreds of VR veterans and newbies alike, we haven’t had one complaint about nausea. Just to be safe we added comfort settings, but Swarm can be played without the fear of motion sickness.”
“From the start we were focused on building something where you can jump in for a 10-20 minute session and make progress,” Le Bek continues. “We also wanted to build a game with an incredible motion mechanic. We’d been enjoying grappling in Windlands and we felt like grappling in VR could feel even better.
“We spent 4 months iterating on grappling, and had a breakthrough when we gave the rope some elasticity and tension simulation – suddenly it felt like we had more control and power, more like Spider-Man. From there we considered building a 3D platformer, or a racing game, but we settled on the arena shooter because swinging through explosions and plunging down on enemies while shooting them was just ridiculously fun!”
Swarmis currently slated for a Summer 2020 release supporting Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift and SteamVR compatible headsets and it’ll feature cross-buy support on the Oculus Store. As further updates for Swarm are revealed VRFocus will keep you updated.
